Making Something Out of Nothing
by vanderlylecrybabygeek
Summary: AU: Drake and Mindy just want to be friends after their relationship fails, but nothing between them is that simple.


**This idea came to me at about 4AM, and it wouldn't leave me alone. By default, I had to write it. It's a little out there, but I had fun writing it! :)**

* * *

><p>"Drake, I don't really know how to say this, but, um, I'm pregnant."<p>

Drake felt a lump in his throat. He tried to speak, but no words would come out. He took a long breath before finally saying, "Wow, Mindy. You and Chris must be thrilled. I'm so happy for you." He was lying, of course, and the words stung his tongue as he spat them out.

"Um, that's the thing." It was now time for Mindy to take a long breath. "I haven't had sex with Chris."

"You what? This…" Drake was trying to process everything to no avail. "Wait. You're saying…"

"Yes."

Drake and Mindy had sex two months ago. They went out together for a night as friends, and after having dinner at a nice restaurant and seeing a movie, they found themselves back to their old ways. They knew they'd never be anything; they knew it didn't work between them romantically, but there was something in the air that night. Something about the way the moonlight was hitting them just right and something about the way that they longed for their bodies to fit in line with one another again. They headed to Mindy's apartment because she couldn't stand to go back to his house. It felt like forbidden territory ever since he'd let that woman sleep in the bed they'd shared, and she wanted to avoid it at all costs. It was different from their usual lovemaking; it was fast and hard and sloppy. There wasn't any love attached to it – it was more like wanting to get it over with, get rid of the nostalgia that was taking both of them over, get rid of the emptiness, find some closure.

Mindy was sure that when she woke up the next morning Drake would be long gone, but she awoke still in his arms. In one way, she hated that he was still there. She hated that she still had to face him and wished he would've left in the night while she was still sound asleep. In another way, she loved that he hadn't left, hadn't tried to run, hadn't decided she wasn't worth it to stay. He had breakfast at her house, then left like nothing ever happened. They didn't ever discuss it; it was swept under the rug, never to be brought to light again.

"I…" Drake couldn't form words.

"Do you want to meet for coffee? Café on Melrose?"

"That'd be good. See you in ten?"

"See you in ten."

* * *

><p>"You're sure?" Drake asked, looking down into his latte to notice his hands were shaking.<p>

"I'm sure," Mindy told him with a nod. Drake was about to speak when she let out a groan and rubbed her face in her hands. "I cannot believe this happened. I can't even process this." She was used to having everything in her life go perfectly. She followed all the rules, and this wasn't in her plan.

"Does Chris know?"

She shook her head before taking a sip of her coffee. "I couldn't tell him before I told you. He'll be absolutely livid."

"I'm so sorry." Drake shook his head as he looked at her. "I'm so sorry, Mindy."

"It's not your fault," Mindy admitted, grabbing Drake's hand from across the table for reassurance. "We're both just such idiots."

"Um, so, what do you want to do about it?" Drake knew the question needed to be posed, but he was scared of what the answer was. He could see Mindy not even wanting to have the baby considering the circumstances. He knew that her career was very important to her, and he knew this could tarnish her reputation forever. He knew it wasn't his place to tell her what to do, but he was sincerely hoping she wanted the baby. Something within him had changed, and he had decided that he was going to be the best damn father a kid could have.

"I'd like to keep the baby, obviously."

He felt his heart start to beat at a normal rate. "Oh, that's good then. Yeah."

"And we could make it work somehow. I really don't know how, but we don't have to worry about that for awhile." Mindy sighed with a slight shake of her head, still not sure how everything played out in the way it did.

"Yeah, we can come up with some sort of plan. And I hate to say this, but you know I have that tour planned that I can't cancel. It's only next month, though, and I want to be there for all the doctors' appointments, but I might miss a few and…" He wasn't sure where he was going with his thoughts. His mind was screaming thousands of things at him.

Mindy nodded and smiled. "Yeah, that's fine. This is totally unexpected, anyway." She laughed, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "We'll make it, right?" She just wanted to hear Drake say they would.

"We will," he answered with a bit of a smile. "I'm not sure how yet, but we'll figure something out." Her grin matched his as they tried to figure out a plan.

There was a silence before Drake said, "What about Chris? You really love him, don't you?"

"I thought I did," she replied, shocking Drake. She saw the look of surprise that colored his face and shrugged, not knowing what else to do.

"You don't?" He raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I don't know anymore. I really don't. I thought he was great, and now this, and I don't know, Drake. My head isn't in the right place."

"I thought he was the one for you. He's a lot more stable than I am."

"Maybe I like your instability." Mindy didn't know why she admitted that. Despite everything, Drake lived in the back of her mind.

"What?"

"He's _very_ straight laced. It's most certainly not a bad thing, but..." Mindy smiled weakly. "I'm used to you."

They couldn't be something. They had tried to be something, and it had ended in heartbreak. Nothing was worth enough to be something.

* * *

><p>"Chris, let's talk," Mindy said one night with a faltering smile. She still hadn't broken the news to him, and she knew it was going to crush him.<p>

"Are you breaking up with me?" he asked as he joined her on the couch. "That sounds like the start of a breakup speech!"

Mindy pressed her lips into a thin line, feeling her heart sink. "No, I'm not breaking up with you," she laughed. She hated to do this because Chris was wonderful; he was sweet, understanding, and everything she wanted. Or so she thought. "You'll probably want to break up with me after this."

"Oh, good," he said, flashing his bright smile. "And never, bunny. Then what's up?"

"I don't know how to say this." Mindy felt tears flood her eyes as she looked into Chris' hazel stare. "I'm pregnant."

It took a moment, but soon an unrecognizable expression colored Chris' face. "Who's…"

"Drake. It's Drake's baby." Something about saying it aloud seemed less scary than she thought it would.

"So you cheated on me with your ex?" Chris asked, slowly sliding away from her on the couch. Mindy watched hurt creep into his eyes.

"Oh, god, no, I promise you that," Mindy replied. "I've been there, and I couldn't do that to another person. We got stupid, and I had sex with him before I met you. I met you the week after it happened. I never thought…" A few tears escaped and she shook her head in embarrassment. "Chris, I'm so sorry. I understand not wanting to be with me anymore. I'm…I'm so sorry."

"Mindy, I just can't even fathom this." Chris ran his hand through his blonde hair, eyes a well of fear and disappointment. "You're pregnant with another man's baby, and…"

"I know." She whimpered, wishing everything hadn't happened like this. Her friendship with Drake wasn't supposed to be complicated. It was supposed to be easy and fun; instead, he ended up being the father to her unborn child. Why did life have to work out that way?

* * *

><p>Chris was willing to overlook the fact that Mindy was pregnant, considering it was a mistake she made when they weren't together. She knew he was a wonderful man, but the more time she spent with Drake, the less time she wanted to spend with him. She couldn't do that to him, so instead of him breaking up with her, she broke up with him for her own sanity.<p>

* * *

><p>Ever since finding out that Mindy was pregnant, Drake showed up to her apartment one night a week. The times varied, and if she was already asleep, he'd slip between the sheets trying not to wake her. She'd shift and cuddle up next to him, and it was like nothing had ever changed. They didn't ever have sex again because they were afraid that would make them something. They knew they couldn't be something. If they justified sleeping together once a week as nothing, it was okay. Their nothingness consisted of going to doctors' appointments together, hanging out together every so often, and Drake's weekly visit to the apartment where he'd either come for dinner and stay the night or come during the wee hours and stay for breakfast. Mindy never went to his house; she felt like she'd be an intruder if she ever went there, so it was never even discussed.<p>

They never said that they loved each other because that would make them something. It was almost implied with the amount of time they were spending together, but they did everything in their power to make sure they stayed nothing.

One night at around one, Drake slid into Mindy's bed and she moved closer to him, cuddling as close as she could. "Hey," he whispered, planting a kiss on her head.

"Hi," Mindy replied, lying her head across his chest.

"How are my babies?" he asked softly, placing a hand across Mindy's stomach.

"We're both good." A faint trace of a smile colored her face. It was then she wanted them to be something more than anything in the world, but she knew they couldn't be. She thought for a moment about how ridiculous everything was; it was okay for them to sleep together, to kiss, to hang out like nothing had ever happened, but they couldn't call themselves a couple. The rules they had put in place seemed so ridiculous. She knew she didn't want Drake to be her husband because she knew he would forever have a tendency to cheat, but if that was the case, why was she letting him in again like this? Everything was a gigantic, nonsensical contradiction.

"I'm glad to hear it." He rubbed her back gently like he always used to do, and Mindy felt safe in his embrace. She silently wished things weren't as complicated as they were.

"Is it really late?" Mindy asked, looking at Drake with weary brown eyes. "It seems really late."

"It's a little after one."

She never asked where he was or why he was getting there so late. That wasn't the important part; the important part was that they were together now. They lied in silence curled up together before Mindy asked, "Why don't you stay after breakfast tomorrow?" She wasn't sure why that's what slipped out, but she guessed it had to do with her longing to become something.

She felt Drake let out a slow, hot breath against her skin. "Mindy, I…"

"Well, do you have to work tomorrow?"

"No."

"Do you have people coming over or something tomorrow?"

"No."

"Then why can't you stay?"

Drake sighed, and Mindy could tell that he was trying to formulate a reason he couldn't stay. His mind was telling him that he should; he couldn't think of a single reason that he shouldn't stay, but he thought it broke the "rules" they had so carefully implemented. They were trying so hard not to become something, and it was a step in that direction. They needed to stay nothing. "It's not that I don't...it's just…"

Mindy knew exactly where he was going and interrupted, "If that breaks the 'rules' we have set, then never mind." There was a bitter edge to her tone that broke Drake's heart. "Then don't stay, Drake. Then just leave before breakfast if you can't bother to stay afterwards. Goodnight."

"Night, M."

* * *

><p>Much to her surprise, Mindy awoke snug in Drake's arms. It took a moment to process the fact that he was still in bed with her, but she assumed it was still early. She shifted a little, and Drake whispered, "Hey, baby" as he gave her a gentle smile and kiss.<p>

"Hi," Mindy replied, craning her neck to see the clock. 11:03. Way after breakfast. "What time did you get up?"

"9:30." He smiled.

"Why didn't you leave?"

"I couldn't after last night," Drake admitted with a bit of guilt in his tone. Mindy had fallen asleep right away after their talk, but he couldn't. His mind was racing as he tried to think of a valid reason that he couldn't stay, but none entered his mind, so here he was.

Mindy grinned, kissing Drake's neck tenderly. "Thank you."

* * *

><p>They lied in bed and ate strawberries, snuggled up together under the covers. They watched TV, talked, laughed, acted like nothing was different, like nothing mattered. They didn't act like they were something, but they didn't act like they were nothing. Neither of them made an effort to move from the bed all day, and it was as though things were the same; they were still together, Drake hadn't cheated, Chris hadn't come into play at all – it was bliss to pretend for a few hours.<p>

The words "I love you" rested on Mindy's tongue, and she had to hold herself back from saying it. She did love Drake and she always would, just like he would always love her, but it couldn't be said aloud. That couldn't be risked; it would complicate things. If it was said aloud, that made it true. So instead, she acted like he knew. And he did because he loved her, too, the words lingering on his tongue but remaining dormant.

After spending the entire day in bed together, Drake even staying for dinner because he couldn't think of a reason to leave, he looked at the clock with a sigh. "I should get going," he said, moving his Chinese takeout container on the nightstand.

Mindy knew he couldn't stay there all day, but she didn't want him to go. "Do you have to?" She sounded like she was pleading, and she hated herself for it.

"I know it sounds like a shitty reason, but I have a dog…and…"

Mindy waved her hand in the air as if to diffuse the thought. "No, I know."

Drake kissed her head before he got up, giving her a smile. "See you this weekend?"

Mindy nodded, watching him head toward the door. Part of her was wondering how she'd even make it that long without seeing him; things had started to seem so much like old times that she found it incredibly difficult whenever he left. "See you then."

Drake waved before leaving the bedroom, and in a few moments, Mindy heard the door slam. He was gone, and she was alone again. Not alone, for she had the baby, but she sure as hell had never felt lonelier.

* * *

><p>The next day, Mindy went out with her friend to get her mind of things. They discussed Drake a bit, but he wasn't the main subject of the day, thankfully. She needed to get out, to remember what life was like before he'd wedged his way back in, before she started to miss him, before any of that. They spent the day shopping for maternity clothes, talking and laughing and making it easy to forget the world.<p>

On the drive home, Mindy mentally prepared herself to be alone again tonight. She hated that Drake had made his way back into her brain; he had always been there, but he hadn't been in forefront for months. She was so ready to let go of any memory of their love and let friendship dominate, but that was impossible now. Mindy hated feeling so needy, but she blamed it on the pregnancy hormones.

She prepared herself to be met with silence before entering her apartment. As she walked in, she stopped in her tracks. Drake was sitting on her couch.

"Hi."

"Um, hi," Mindy said, scrunching her face up in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

A smile came across his face as Drake stood up and made his way to Mindy, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I missed you, and I know this breaks 'rules' and I just…I missed you. So much. And we're supposed to be nothing, and I know that, but it's so hard because…I…Mindy, I never stopped lov-"

He was cut off by Mindy pressing her lips to his, and soon, they were scrambling to the couch, finally doing what they had been scared to do all along. Clothes were ripped off in a matter of seconds. They were kissing and sinking into each other until they were skin to skin, completely enveloped in each other's arms, feeling like the world had stopped.

"I never stopped loving you, either, Drake," Mindy whispered between kisses. She felt his grin against her lips.

It was worth everything to be something.


End file.
